Corporate user discovery and identification of recommended collaborators in a cloud platform

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present disclosure include systems and methods for user discovery (e.g., corporate user discovery) and/or identification of recommended or suggested collaborators in a collaboration platform which may be a cloud-based platform. The disclosed technology enables a user to discover a network of users that they could be collaborating with but are not. This feature, can for example, identify the relevant users or the suggested users and depict the users in the user interface. The identification and selection of the suggested users/potential collaborators can be based on some criteria (e.g., email domain, when the account was created, etc.). These criteria can be set by system default, adjusted by individual users and/or configured/set by admins if a user belongs to a corporate account/enterprise account.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION AND EFFECTIVE FILING DATE ENTITLEMENT

The present application claims priority to and benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/709,653 titled “Corporate User Discovery and Identification of Recommended Collaborators in a Cloud Platform” (Attorney Docket No. 61599-8061.US00), filed on Oct. 4, 2012, the content of which is incorporated by reference herein. This application is therefore entitled to an effective filing date of Oct. 4, 2012.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. The following notice applies to the software and data as described below and in the drawings that form a part of this document: Copyright 2013, Box, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

BACKGROUND

Users of a cloud-based collaboration platform collaborate on items managed by the collaboration platform. The initial collaborators of an item are often those who have developed the idea based on which the item is created. However, it may not be clear who can also be collaborators of the item, especially in a corporate environment where many professionals with different skills and interests are available. Since collaboration often improves the quality of data and can otherwise benefit the collaborators, it would be helpful to be able to identify collaborators efficiently.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 contains a diagram illustrating an example system having a host server of a cloud service (e.g., collaboration or file sharing platform) and/or cloud storage accounts with user discovery and/or identification of recommended collaborators for a user in the service.

FIG. 2 contains a diagram illustrating an example web-based or online collaboration platform deployed in an enterprise or other organizational setting for organizing work items and workspaces, as one example of a collaboration or file sharing service which may be or include hosted cloud service and/or cloud storage with capabilities for user discovery and/or identification of recommended collaborators for a user of the collaboration service.

FIG. 3 contains a diagram illustrating an example workspace in an online or web-based collaboration environment accessible by multiple collaborators through various devices authorized to access the work space.

FIG. 4 contains a block diagram illustrating example components of the collaboration platform.

FIG. 5 contains a flowchart illustrating an example process of recommending collaborators.

FIG. 6 contains a screenshot of an example user interface depicting recommended collaborators with whom the user currently is not collaborating.

FIG. 7 contains a screenshot of an example user interface showing collaborators and recommended collaborators with whom the user may want to collaborate.

FIG. 8 shows a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the example form of a computer system within which a set of instructions, for causing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, may be executed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description and drawings are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosure. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order to avoid obscuring the description. References to one or an embodiment in the present disclosure can be, but not necessarily are, references to the same embodiment; and, such references mean at least one of the embodiments.

Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but no other embodiments.

The terms used in this specification generally have their ordinary meanings in the art, within the context of the disclosure, and in the specific context where each term is used. Certain terms that are used to describe the disclosure are discussed below, or elsewhere in the specification, to provide additional guidance to the practitioner regarding the description of the disclosure. For convenience, certain terms may be highlighted, for example using italics and/or quotation marks. The use of highlighting has no influence on the scope and meaning of a term; the scope and meaning of a term is the same, in the same context, whether or not it is highlighted. It will be appreciated that same thing can be said in more than one way.

Consequently, alternative language and synonyms may be used for any one or more of the terms discussed herein, nor is any special significance to be placed upon whether or not a term is elaborated or discussed herein. Synonyms for certain terms are provided. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification including examples of any terms discussed herein is illustrative only, and is not intended to further limit the scope and meaning of the disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the disclosure is not limited to various embodiments given in this specification.

Without intent to limit the scope of the disclosure, examples of instruments, apparatus, methods and their related results according to the embodiments of the present disclosure are given below. Note that titles or subtitles may be used in the examples for convenience of a reader, which in no way should limit the scope of the disclosure. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. In the case of conflict, the present document, including definitions will control.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include systems and methods for user discovery and/or identification of recommended collaborators in a collaboration environment including a cloud-based platform (e.g., cloud-based file sharing, collaboration, and/or storage platform/service).

FIG. 1 contains a diagram illustrating an example system having a host server 100 of a cloud service (e.g., collaboration or file sharing platform) and/or cloud storage accounts with user discovery and/or identification of recommended collaborators for a user in the service.

The client devices 102 can be any system and/or device, and/or any combination of devices/systems that is able to establish a connection, including wired, wireless, cellular connections with another device, a server and/or other systems such as host server 100 and/or notification server 150. Client devices 102 will typically include a display and/or other output functionalities to present information and data exchanged between among the devices 102 and/or the host server 100 and/or notification server 150.

For example, the client devices 102 can include mobile, hand held or portable devices or non-portable devices and can be any of, but not limited to, a server desktop, a desktop computer, a computer cluster, or portable devices including, a notebook, a laptop computer, a handheld computer, a palmtop computer, a mobile phone, a cell phone, a smart phone, a PDA, a Blackberry device, a Treo, a handheld tablet (e.g. an iPad, a Galaxy, Xoom Tablet, etc.), a tablet PC, a thin-client, a hand held console, a hand held gaming device or console, an iPhone, and/or any other portable, mobile, hand held devices, etc. running on any platform or any operating system (e.g., Mac-based OS (OS X, iOS, etc.), Windows-based OS (Windows Mobile, Windows 7, etc.), Android, Blackberry OS, Embedded Linux platforms, Palm OS, Symbian platform. In one embodiment, the client devices 102, host server 100, and app server 110 are coupled via a network 106. In some embodiments, the devices 102 and host server 100 may be directly connected to one another.

The input mechanism on client devices 102 can include touch screen keypad (including single touch, multi-touch, gesture sensing in 2D or 3D, etc.), a physical keypad, a mouse, a pointer, a track pad, motion detector (e.g., including 1-axis, 2-axis, 3-axis accelerometer, etc.), a light sensor, capacitance sensor, resistance sensor, temperature sensor, proximity sensor, a piezoelectric device, device orientation detector (e.g., electronic compass, tilt sensor, rotation sensor, gyroscope, accelerometer), or a combination of the above.

Signals received or detected indicating user activity at client devices 102 through one or more of the above input mechanism, or others, can be used in the disclosed technology by various users or collaborators (e.g., collaborators 108) for accessing, through network 106, a web-based collaboration environment or online collaboration platform (e.g., hosted by the host server 100).

The collaboration platform or environment hosts workspaces with work items that one or more users can access (e.g., view, edit, update, revise, comment, download, preview, tag, or otherwise manipulate, etc.). A work item can generally include any type of digital or electronic content that can be viewed or accessed via an electronic device (e.g., device 102). The digital content can include .pdf files, .doc, slides (e.g., Powerpoint slides), images, audio files, multimedia content, web pages, blogs, etc. A workspace can generally refer to any grouping of a set of digital content in the collaboration platform. The grouping can be created, identified, or specified by a user or through other means. This user may be a creator user or administrative user, for example.

In general, a workspace can be associated with a set of users or collaborators (e.g., collaborators 108) which have access to the content included therein. The levels of access (e.g., based on permissions or rules) of each user or collaborator to access the content in a given workspace may be the same or may vary among the users. Each user may have their own set of access rights to every piece of content in the workspace, or each user may be different access rights to different pieces of content. Access rights may be specified by a user associated with a work space and/or a user who created/uploaded a particular piece of content to the workspace, or any other designated user or collaborator.

In general, the collaboration platform allows multiple users or collaborators to access or collaborate on work items such each user can see, remotely, edits, revisions, comments, or annotations being made to specific work items through their own user devices. For example, a user can upload a document to a work space for other users to access (e.g., for viewing, editing, commenting, signing-off, or otherwise manipulating). The user can login to the online platform and upload the document (or any other type of work item) to an existing work space or to a new work space. The document can be shared with existing users or collaborators in a work space.

A diagrammatic illustration of the online collaboration environment and the relationships between workspaces and users/collaborators are illustrated with further reference to the example of FIG. 2. A diagrammatic illustration of a workspace having multiple work items with which collaborators can access through multiple devices is illustrated with further reference to the example of FIG. 3.

In one embodiment, the host server 100 of cloud-based services and/or cloud storage such as an online or web-based collaboration environment is able to track or monitor the devices used by users to access content or activities.

In one embodiment, client devices 102 communicate with the host server 100 and/or notification server 150 over network 106. In general, network 106, over which the client devices 102, the host server 100, and/or notification server 150 communicate, may be a cellular network, a telephonic network, an open network, such as the Internet, or a private network, such as an intranet and/or the extranet, or any combination thereof. For example, the Internet can provide file transfer, remote log in, email, news, RSS, cloud-based services, instant messaging, visual voicemail, push mail, VoIP, and other services through any known or convenient protocol, such as, but is not limited to the TCP/IP protocol, Open System Interconnections (OSI), FTP, UPnP, iSCSI, NSF, ISDN, PDH, RS-232, SDH, SONET, etc.

The network 106 can be any collection of distinct networks operating wholly or partially in conjunction to provide connectivity to the client devices 102 and the host server 100 and may appear as one or more networks to the serviced systems and devices. In one embodiment, communications to and from the client devices 102 can be achieved by, an open network, such as the Internet, or a private network, such as an intranet and/or the extranet. In one embodiment, communications can be achieved by a secure communications protocol, such as secure sockets layer (SSL), or transport layer security (TLS).

In addition, communications can be achieved via one or more networks, such as, but are not limited to, one or more of WiMax, a Local Area Network (LAN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), a Personal area network (PAN), a Campus area network (CAN), a Metropolitan area network (MAN), a Wide area network (WAN), a Wireless wide area network (WWAN), enabled with technologies such as, by way of example, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Personal Communications Service (PCS), Digital Advanced Mobile Phone Service (D-Amps), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Fixed Wireless Data, 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 4G, IMT-Advanced, pre-4G, 3G LTE, 3GPP LTE, LTE Advanced, mobile WiMax, WiMax 2, WirelessMAN-Advanced networks, enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE), General packet radio service (GPRS), enhanced GPRS, iBurst, UMTS, HSPDA, HSUPA, HSPA, UMTS-TDD, 1xRTT, EV-DO, messaging protocols such as, TCP/IP, SMS, MMS, extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP), real time messaging protocol (RTMP), instant messaging and presence protocol (IMPP), instant messaging, USSD, IRC, or any other wireless data networks or messaging protocols.

FIG. 2 contains a diagram illustrating an example web-based or online collaboration platform deployed in an enterprise or other organizational setting 250 for organizing work items 215, 235, 255 and workspaces 205, 225, 245, as one example of a collaboration or file sharing service which may be or include hosted cloud service and/or cloud storage with capabilities for user discovery and/or identification of recommended collaborators for a user of the collaboration service.

The web-based platform for collaborating on projects or jointly working on documents can be used by individual users and shared among collaborators. In addition, the collaboration platform can be deployed in an organized setting including but not limited to, a company (e.g., an enterprise setting), a department in a company, an academic institution, a department in an academic institution, a class or course setting, or any other types of organizations or organized setting.

When deployed in an organizational setting, multiple workspaces (e.g., workspace A, B, . . . N) can be created to support different projects or a variety of work flows. Each workspace can have its own associate work items. For example, work space A 205 may be associated with work items 215, work space B 225 can be associated with work items 235, and work space N can be associated with work items 255. The work items 215, 235, and 255 may be unique to each work space but need not be. For example, a particular word document can be associated with only one work space (e.g., work space A 205) or it may be associated with multiple work spaces (e.g., Work space A 205 and work space B 225, etc.).

In general, each work space has a set of users or collaborators associated with it. For example, work space A 205 is associated with multiple users or collaborators 206. In some instances, work spaces deployed in an enterprise may be department specific. For example, work space B may be associated with department 210 and some users shown as example user A 208 and workspace N 245 can be associated with departments 212 and 216 and users shown as example user B 214.

Each user associated with a work space can generally access the work items associated with the work space. The level of access will depend on permissions associated with the specific work space, and/or with a specific work item. Permissions can be set for the work space or set individually on a per work item basis. For example, the creator of a work space (e.g., one of user A 208 who creates work space B) can set one permission setting applicable to all work items 235 for other associated users and/or users associated with the affiliate department 210, for example. Creator user A 208 may also set different permission settings for each work item, which may be the same for different users, or varying for different users.

In each work space A, B, . . . N, when an action is performed on a work item by a given user or any other activity is detected in the work space, other users in the same work space may be notified (e.g., in real time or in near real time, or not in real time). Activities which trigger real time notifications can include, by way of example but not limitation, adding, deleting, or modifying collaborators in the work space, uploading, downloading, adding, deleting a work item in the work space, creating a discussion topic in the work space.

Specifically, items or content downloaded or edited in accordance with the techniques described in the present disclosure can be cause notifications to be generated. Such notifications can be sent to relevant users to notify them of actions surrounding a download, an edit, a change, a modification, a new file, a conflicting version, an upload of an edited or modified file.

In one embodiment, in a user interface to the web-based collaboration platform where notifications are presented, users can, via the same interface, create action items (e.g., tasks) and delegate the action items to other users including collaborators pertaining to a work item 215, for example. The other users can be collaborators 206 in the same workspace A 205 or a newly invited collaborator. Similarly, in the same user interface where discussion topics can be created in a work space (e.g., work space A, B, . . . N, etc.), actionable events on work items can be created and/or delegated/assigned to other users such as collaborators of a given work space 206 or other users. Through the same user interface, task status and updates from multiple users or collaborators can be indicated and reflected. In some instances, the users can perform the tasks (e.g., review or approve or reject, etc.) via the same user interface.

FIG. 3 contains a diagram illustrating an example workspace 302 in an online or web-based collaboration environment accessible by multiple collaborators 322 through various devices authorized to access the work space.

Each of users 316, 318, and 320 can individually use multiple different devices to access and/or manipulate work items 324 in the work space 302 with which they are associated with. For example users 316, 318, 320 can be collaborators on a project to which work items 324 are relevant. Since the work items 324 are hosted by the collaboration environment (e.g., a cloud-based environment), each user can access the work items 324 anytime, and from any physical location using any device (e.g., including devices they own or any shared/public/loaner device).

Work items to be edited or viewed can be accessed from the workspace 302 in accordance with the platform and/or application independent mechanisms. Users can also be notified of access, edit, modification, and/or upload related-actions performed on work items 324 by other users or any other types of activities detected in the work space 302. For example, if user 316 modifies a document, one or both of the other collaborators 318 and 320 can be notified of the modification in real time, or near real-time, or not in real time. The notifications can be sent through any of all of the devices associated with a given user, in various formats including, one or more of, email, SMS, or via a pop-up window in a user interface in which the user uses to access the collaboration platform. In the event of multiple notifications, each notification can be depicted preferentially (e.g., ordered in the user interface) based on user preferences and/or relevance to the user (e.g., implicit or explicit).

For example, a notification of a download, access, read, write, edit, or uploaded related activities can be presented in a feed stream among other notifications through a user interface on the user device according to relevancy to the user determined based on current or recent activity of the user in the web-based collaboration environment.

In one embodiment, a notification feed stream includes updates when an invited user accepts an invitation and/or successfully creates a new account through receipt of an invitation from an existing user. The invited user, upon creation of the new account, receives the account having enhanced features. The new user can automatically be connected to the existing user who sent the invitation. The system can also automatically prompt both users to query they wish to be collaborators in a common work space.

FIG. 4 contains a block diagram illustrating example components of the collaboration platform. In one embodiment, the collaboration platform comprises a network interface 402, a recommendation module 404, a presentation manager 406, and an invitation manager 408.

As used herein, a “module”, a “manager”, an “interface”, or the like includes a general purpose, dedicated or shared processor and, typically, firmware or software modules that are executed by the processor. Depending upon implementation-specific or other considerations, the module, manager, tracker, agent, handler, or engine can be centralized or its functionality distributed. The module, the manager, the interface, or the like can include general or special purpose hardware, firmware, or software embodied in a computer-readable (storage) medium for execution by the processor.

As used herein, a computer-readable medium or computer-readable storage medium is intended to include all mediums that are statutory (e.g., in the United States, under 35 U.S.C. 101), and to specifically exclude all mediums that are non-statutory in nature to the extent that the exclusion is necessary for a claim that includes the computer-readable (storage) medium to be valid. Known statutory computer-readable mediums include hardware (e.g., registers, random access memory (RAM), non-volatile (NV) storage, to name a few), but may or may not be limited to hardware.

The network interface 402 can be a networking module that enables the host server to mediate data in a network with an entity that is external to the host server, through any known and/or convenient communications protocol supported by the host server and the external entity. The network interface 402 can communicate with one or more of a network adaptor card, a wireless network interface card (e.g., SMS interface, Wi-Fi interface, interfaces for various generations of mobile communication standards including but not limited to 1G, 2G, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, LTE, etc.), Bluetooth, a router, an access point, a wireless router, a switch, a multilayer switch, a protocol converter, a gateway, a bridge, a bridge router, a hub, a digital media receiver, and/or a repeater.

In one embodiment, the recommendation module 404 constructs for a user of the collaboration platform a list of potential collaborators to collaborate on an item out of all the users of the collaboration platform. The list can include the newest users, those who most recently joined the collaboration platform. According to various implementations, the list can be built based on a user's location (physical address, email address, Uniform Resource Locator (URL), etc.), affiliation, interests, skills, and collaboration patterns. For example, those users who already collaborate on a workspace or a work item with the user can be potential collaborators of this item. In one embodiment, the list can be grown iteratively based on user input. For example, based on the user's selection from an initial list, the recommendation module 404 may restart with the list of those selections and expands the list by finding more users who have something in common with those already on the list. Generally, the goal would be to find a user who is interested in and capable of improving the quality of the item. Certainly, other factors could be taken into consideration, such as privacy and entertainment.

The presentation manager 406 presents the list of potential collaborators to the user for the user's selection. The presentation can be done via a graphical user interface (GUI) that is delivered to the user's client device. It may allow the user to select some or all of the potential collaborators on the list. In one implementation, the user's selection can be used to refine the list of potential collaborators, as discussed above.

The invitation manager 408 allows the user to invite a potential collaborator to work on the item. The invitation can exist in any form and be delivered in any way as may be conceived by someone of ordinary skill in the art. For example, it can be done with a phone call or by showing a message via the GUI. Upon receiving an acceptance of an invitation from a potential collaborator of the item, the invitation manager 408 may make the potential collaborator an official collaborator of the item, which can then affect the recommendation of collaborators of another item.

FIG. 5 contains a flowchart illustrating an example process of recommending collaborators. At step 502, the recommendation module 404 constructs for a user of the collaboration platform a list of potential collaborators to collaborate on an item out of all the users of the collaboration platform. At step 504, the presentation manager 406 presents the list of potential collaborators to the user for the user's selection. At step 506, it accepts the user's selection and optionally sends the selection to the recommendation module 404 to further expand the list. At step 508, the invitation module invites a potential collaborator on the list that has been selected by the user to work on the item.

FIG. 6 contains a screenshot of an example user interface depicting recommended collaborators with whom the user currently is not collaborating. In one embodiment, some of the recommended collaborators are company colleagues as listed under 602. These potential collaborators can be determined based on one or more criteria. For example, the list under 602 can show those colleagues who joined the collaboration platform most recently. Additional suggested collaborators can be listed, for example, in pop up box 604. A list of all identified suggested/recommended collaborators can be viewed as well by selecting the link 608, for example. Though the user interface, the user can invite one or more of the suggested/recommended collaborators to join the collaboration of a workspace via the button 606.

FIG. 7 contains a screenshot of an example user interface showing collaborators and recommended collaborators with whom the user may want to collaborate. For example, the user can access more or all additional users in the company on the tab 702. Similarly, this tab 702 need not be limited to recommending or suggesting only colleagues or other users in the same company using the service. The recommended or suggested collaborators can include any other user meeting a set of default, modified, user-configured, admin-configured or admin-mandated criteria. Note that in general, this feature can be enabled or disabled by the user and/or by an enterprise administrator.

The disclosed technology and features facilitate the connection of people and users around content. For example, in one use case, users can now find and immediately collaborate with others in their company. Conversations and collaboration around important content can begin instantly. This technology streamlines the onboarding process and makes the collaboration platform more social by helping users more easily connect with co-workers or other users who they might not have known were using the same file sharing/collaboration platform.

FIG. 8 shows a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the example form of a computer system within which a set of instructions, for causing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, may be executed.

In alternative embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

The machine may be a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a user device, a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, an iPhone, an iPad, a Blackberry, a processor, a telephone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, a console, a hand-held console, a (hand-held) gaming device, a music player, any portable, mobile, hand-held device, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine.

While the machine-readable medium or machine-readable storage medium is shown in an exemplary embodiment to be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” and “machine-readable storage medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readable medium” and “machine-readable storage medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the presently disclosed technique and innovation.

In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of the disclosure, may be implemented as part of an operating system or a specific application, component, program, object, module or sequence of instructions referred to as “computer programs”. The computer programs typically comprise one or more instructions set at various times in various memory and storage devices in a computer, and that, when read and executed by one or more processing units or processors in a computer, cause the computer to perform operations to execute elements involving the various aspects of the disclosure.

Moreover, while embodiments have been described in the context of fully functioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various embodiments are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that the disclosure applies equally regardless of the particular type of machine or computer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution.

Further examples of machine-readable storage media, machine-readable media, or computer-readable (storage) media include, but are not limited to, recordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile memory devices, floppy and other removable disks, hard disk drives, optical disks (e.g., Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD ROMS), Digital Versatile Disks, (DVDs), etc.), among others, and transmission type media such as digital and analog communication links.

The network interface device enables the machine 2800 to mediate data in a network with an entity that is external to the host server, through any known and/or convenient communications protocol supported by the host and the external entity. The network interface device can include one or more of a network adaptor card, a wireless network interface card, a router, an access point, a wireless router, a switch, a multilayer switch, a protocol converter, a gateway, a bridge, bridge router, a hub, a digital media receiver, and/or a repeater.

The network interface device can include a firewall which can, in some embodiments, govern and/or manage permission to access/proxy data in a computer network, and track varying levels of trust between different machines and/or applications. The firewall can be any number of modules having any combination of hardware and/or software components able to enforce a predetermined set of access rights between a particular set of machines and applications, machines and machines, and/or applications and applications, for example, to regulate the flow of traffic and resource sharing between these varying entities. The firewall may additionally manage and/or have access to an access control list which details permissions including for example, the access and operation rights of an object by an individual, a machine, and/or an application, and the circumstances under which the permission rights stand.

Other network security functions can be performed or included in the functions of the firewall, can be, for example, but are not limited to, intrusion-prevention, intrusion detection, next-generation firewall, personal firewall, etc. without deviating from the novel art of this disclosure.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” As used herein, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” or any variant thereof, means any connection or coupling, either direct or indirect, between two or more elements; the coupling of connection between the elements can be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. Additionally, the words “herein”, “above”, “below”, and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. Where the context permits, words in the above Detailed Description using the singular or plural number may also include the plural or singular number respectively. The word “or”, in reference to a list of two or more items, covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list.

The above detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the teachings to the precise form disclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the disclosure are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the disclosure, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, while processes or blocks are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments may perform routines having steps, or employ systems having blocks, in a different order, and some processes or blocks may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified to provide alternative or subcombinations. Each of these processes or blocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as being performed in series, these processes or blocks may instead be performed in parallel, or may be performed at different times. Further, any specific numbers noted herein are only examples: alternative implementations may employ differing values or ranges.

The teachings of the disclosure provided herein can be applied to other systems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments.

Any patents and applications and other references noted above, including any that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporated herein by reference. Aspects of the disclosure can be modified, if necessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the various references described above to provide yet further embodiments of the disclosure.

These and other changes can be made to the disclosure in light of the above Detailed Description. While the above description describes certain embodiments of the disclosure, and describes the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the teachings can be practiced in many ways. Details of the system may vary considerably in its implementation details, while still being encompassed by the subject matter disclosed herein. As noted above, particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the disclosure should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the disclosure with which that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the disclosure to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Description section explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the disclosure encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the disclosure under the claims.

While certain aspects of the disclosure are presented below in certain claim forms, the inventors contemplate the various aspects of the disclosure in any number of claim forms. For example, while only one aspect of the disclosure is recited as a means-plus-function claim under 35 U.S.C. §112, ¶6, other aspects may likewise be embodied as a means-plus-function claim, or in other forms, such as being embodied in a computer-readable medium. (Any claims intended to be treated under 35 U.S.C. §112, ¶6 will begin with the words “means for”.) Accordingly, the applicant reserves the right to add additional claims after filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of the disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of recommending collaborators on a cloud-based collaboration platform, comprising the steps of: generating for a user a list of one or more potential collaborators to collaborate on an item managed by the cloud-based collaboration platform from other users of the cloud-based collaboration platform who are not currently collaborators of the item; and presenting the list of the one or more potential collaborators to the user.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the list is generated is based on when a user joined the cloud-based collaboration platform.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the list is generated based on a user's location.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein a user location can be represented as a physical address, an email address, or a uniform resource locator (URL).
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the list is generated based on a collection of one or more items of which a user is a collaborator.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of accepting the user's selection from the list.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising the step of inviting one or more users to collaborate on the item according to the user's selection.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the item is to be collaboratively accessed using multiple physical devices by the collaborators of the item;
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the multiple physical devices include a mobile device.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the cloud-based collaboration platform hosts workspaces, each comprising one or more work items, and wherein the item is a workspace or a work item.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the selection is based on a list of workspaces and/or work items of which a user is a collaborator.
 12. A system for recommending collaborators on a cloud-based collaboration platform, comprising: a generating unit which generates for a user a list of one or more potential collaborators to collaborate on an item managed by the cloud-based collaboration platform from other users of the cloud-based collaboration platform who are not currently collaborators of the item; and a presenting unit which presents the list of the one or more potential collaborators to the user.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the list is generated is based on when a user joined the cloud-based collaboration platform.
 14. The system of claim 12, wherein the list is generated based on a user's location.
 15. The system of claim 12, wherein the list is generated based on a collection of one or more items of which a user is a collaborator.
 16. A machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions which when executed by a processor perform a method of recommending collaborators on a cloud-based collaboration platform, the method comprising the steps of: generating for a user a list of one or more potential collaborators to collaborate on an item managed by the cloud-based collaboration platform from other users of the cloud-based collaboration platform who are not currently collaborators of the item; and presenting the list of the one or more potential collaborators to the user. 